Lesley's Garden

Botanical Miniatures in 1 inch and 1/2 inch scale for dollhouses and collectors.

Finishing Kits and Pots

Kits

Our miniature plant kits are all tested by ‘average’ miniaturists before we release them.  We aim to allow everyone to create something that looks just like the photograph on the package. If you have difficulty with any of our kits, email us for help! Our kit photographs help you follow instructions.

Our kit instructions include Options to help you produce a plant as close to nature as possible.  We choose archival papers for you to work with, avoiding papers that need special attention from you, and package unfinished resin pots with the kits, allowing you to create a pot finish which suits your design. We also offer extra part packs to anyone who orders our kits.  These allow you to use your new found skills to create an entire garden of the plant you have mastered.  Extra part packs contain only petals, leaves and wire. (no pots, foam or petal forming pads) and will create four additional plants per pack.

Finishing Resin Pots

We ship resin pots with our kits. They may be individually finished to match your décor.  The pots have an undercoat of Model Master Acry® which creates a base for acrylic and enamel paints.  If you scratch or damage the resin, it can be successfully filled with modeling putty (used by plastic modelers).  We use Tamiya® putty which sands well.

Terracotta  finish with an acrylic craft paint

Stone    For grey stone we use a light grey base, then dab it using pieces of real sponge with acrylics in mid beige (Delta Ceramcoat mudstone 02488) and again in darker grey and white, blending the stone colours with a  stiff pouncing or stencil brush (you can use a stiff toothbrush).  If we want a granite effect we spatter with dark grey and white using a toothbrush.  For Bath stone, we mix up a pale yellow acrylic undercoat, then wash over it with dilute grey and mudstone.

Highly Glazed   top coat your finish with a good clear nail enamel, it goes on thinner and stronger than most acrylic finishes.

Highly coloured, glazed coloured nail enamel is often easiest.

Metallic Finish  For gilded/silvered or pewter pots, we use a coat of Pearl Ex®  pigment, a dry powder which can be added to paint, or water washed over a base coat.  This treatment gives us the look of gilding, lead, copper or other metallic finishes.  We finish the Pearl Ex® pots with a matte or semi gloss clear acrylic to protect the metallic finish.

Aging, Moss and Lichen  for aged stone or terracotta use a  dilute wash of raw or green umber acrylic leaving it to dry in the detail, applying more where dirt would collect.  For lichens and moss, dab on small amounts of Testor’s dullcoat laquer® (used by plastic model makers) and while it is still wet, sprinkle decorating chalks or artist’s pastels into the lacquer.  When it dries the dull areas with bright green highlights mimic how moss and lichen colonize surfaces.  If you want a salt bloom on terracotta, you can use a white chalk on a new pot finish to create that effect.

Soil   To replicate soil in pots and planters we use sterilized African violet soil without additives which we dry completely, then adhere to the surface of dry floral foam in a thin layer with spray artists adhesive (Pva glue works as well).  Finely ground used and dried coffee grounds, or very cheap tea leaves (finings) (used and dried) are far higher in organic content than dried sterilized soil, and are very acid, not neutral pH.  African violet soil is mainly very fine sand and small bits of fine ground cocoa fibre, which has less organic material to rot or attract insects, and is a lower pH than most alternatives.  Make sure you dry it thoroughly before use.